1. 1. Who Is Jen Helms?
2. 2. Workshop Outline 1 Experiences and lessons learned teaching through play in the real world. 3 Analyzing examples of concepts taught in the real- world and through video games. 2 4 Dreaming up our own ideas around educational games Exploring what makes a great educational game and the education game/entertainment game spectrum.
3. 3. Educational framework Sense of place: designing games and additional teaching materials to provide a deeper connection to students surroundings. Interconnections: highlighting how different components of the environment are connected and tying the experience back to their lives and community
4. 4. Bat and Moth Bat Moth
5. 5. Surprise Wonder Fun Connection Engagement Interaction
6. 6. Where might the experience fall short? Missing opportunity to discover the inner workings of system processes Missing opportunity for exploration and feedback
7. 7. Where do we start with designing a great educational experience? What system do we want the student to model in their head?
8. 8. In what ways can the student inhabit that system? How can it be represented, communicated, interacted with?
9. 9. How does that system, its representation, and the manner in which it's being interacted with speak to the student's prior understanding of themselves and the world they live in?
10. 10. How deeply can the student understand that system through its representation and to what extent does their learning translate into the real-world?
11. 11. Are all games purely educational or purely entertainment? Entertainment Education Sleep Furiously Stagecraft
12. 12. Cut the Rope
13. 13. Sleep Furiously
14. 14. Looking at photosynthesis as a case study Video Game = Reach for the Sun Environmental Education = Race for the Sun H2O+CO2+chlorophyll(in the presence of sunlight) -> sugar(glucose)+O2
15. 15. Race for the Sun SunH20H20C02 C02 H20H20 C02C02 Plant Plant H20C02 H20C02 H20C02 H20 C02 H20C02 H20 C02
16. 16. Reach for the Sun by Filament Games
17. 17. Reach for the Sun Race for the Sun Broader timeline Deeper visibility into a plant, root system Player is able to experiment, get feedback, and try again Goal parallels reality for plants Low cost Benefit from intangibles Laughter Play Teamwork Familiarity with other childhood games
18. 18. Foreign language learning as a second case study Video Game = Stagecraft Real-world playful learning = Study abroad programs
19. 19. Stagecraft
20. 20. Stagecraft Study Abroad Instant feedback about how language ties to the game world Perceptual grounding Low cost Communication, both generating and processing language Endless possibility for new vocab, slang, etc. Cultural exposure Personal development
21. 21. 5 minutes brainstorm to discuss what you want to teach, what system will students be exploring? Lets dream up educational games! 5 minutes to brainstorm how the student can inhabit that system. How can it be represented, communicated, interacted with? Is it better represented through a real-world game or video game? 5 minutes to share your thought process and results.
22. 22. Email: jen@playmationstudios.com Twitter: @jenrhelms Website: http://playmationstudios.com